May 15, 2013

I LOVE chia pudding! And what can be easier than throwing a few chia seeds into a mason jar with some fresh fruit and almond milk and giving it a good shake! Side note: please excuse the manicure.

If you've never tried chia pudding, I highly recommend picking up some chia seeds and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze almond milk and give it a try. Chia is a super food; an excellent
source of omega fatty acids, has more antioxidants than blueberries and it's full of minerals, calcium, protein, vitamins and fiber. Plus it is low in calories and is incredibly satiating.

Some of you may have tried my Mango Coconut Chia Pudding which is always a favorite of mine, but I wanted to try something with all the berries I bought this week and used fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries... delicious!

All I do is combine the chia seeds with milk (my favorite milk to use when making chia pudding is Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond-Coconut Milk) then add fruit and a little liquid stevia or whatever sweetener you like, then shake it all up, let it sit 15 minutes and give it another good shake and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. Karina, my oldest loves this! Madison, my youngest wanted to help me style the shot, perhaps I have an assistant in training...

Isn't she such a ham : )

This is so healthy you can even eat this for breakfast, which is what I did this morning. Did I mention this fits into so many dietary restrictions; gluten-free, dairy-free, low sodium, low sugar, low calorie, vegetarian, vegan... enjoy!! By the way the lovely spoon is by For Such A Time Designs.

Combine the Almond Breeze almond-coconut milk together with the chia seeds and fruit in a glass jar with a lid. Cover and shake well, set aside for 15 minutes. Give it another good shake then refrigerate overnight or at least 5-6 hours.

Divide into 2 bowls or glass serving dishes and serve. Enjoy!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze. I only share products I am passionate about and use in my own kitchen on a daily basis. I created this recipe and received compensation to do so.

Is the pudding hard to get out of the mason jar after sitting overnight? I would think not but can't remember the texture of the pudding (made your coconut mango a while ago) but either way I will definitely be making this soon! Love a healthy dessert! Maybe a dark chocolate one next? Please? LOLP.S. - Madison is too cute!

Did you know that most Almond milk - and most all milk substitutes - contain carrageenan. Carageenan is a substance that causes inflammation in the body, and after being fed to mice for 18 days lead to diabetes. It is theorized by the effects on mice in studies that it could lead to multiple diseases, including cancer, in humans. Just FYI, since I frequent your site, but am sometimes disappointed in the ingredient choices, and thought I would let you know.

I did extensive research on carageenan with a registereg dietician; there are 2 kinds of carrageenan, native and degraded. Prior to posting this I was concerned since I used this brand and this is what they said: The carrageenan that is used in the Almond Breeze formula is not to be confused with the degraded version that is chemically different. Hope that puts you at ease.

Wow, after reading the reply from Jeri Ann, I googled info & a lot of what I found is very discouraging. One link I read: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181/Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html I will definitely be doing more research before drinking/purchasing any more products that contain this.

Degraded (dangerous) carrageenan is NOT used in Silk, Almond Breeze, or any other FDA approved food. Food Grade carrageenan (the type often used as a thickener in almond milk) is not dangerous to our bodies in any way.

This is simply a topic swimming with misinformation. No need to panic or stop purchasing almond milk.

I am posting this after reading the comment about carrageenan. You can certainly find almond milk without the harmful ingredient. Here is a link that provides info about manufacturers that do not add carrageenan.

As per the Executive Director from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, as long as it's native carrageenan it is safe, which shouldn't be confusd with degraded. When I asked Almond breeze, they told me they use native, not degraded, hope that helps.

Chia has been in my diet for awhile now; in smoothies and homemade fruit popsicles. I rotate it with flaxseed to get the benefits of both. I really find it a great addition for healthy eating and weight loss.

You can buy chia seeds almost anywhere now. wegmans has them in bulk bins & almost all health food stores as well as mom's (my organic market), trader joes, giant, safeway, harris teeter and i've even seen them at walmart :)

Mmm I love chia pudding! And your spoon - I want to hunt one down! I tend to use Almond Breeze for all of my recipes that call for milk or milk alternatives. I'm not vegan, but I can never get through a carton of regular milk on my own before it spoils, and I really do like the taste of almond milk! I'm thinking tomorrow's breakfast might just have to be chia pudding!

Gina, I've heard that stevia tastes bitter. I bought some Truvia and it was awful so it made me doubt buying any other brand. But I see you use the liquid version and I wonder if it took some getting used to or if it has a different formulation that makes it less bitter. Thanks!

I'll be honest I hated stevia until I tried NuNaturals liquid stevia which was recommended from Marla from Family Fresh. It's the only one I'll use, you can order it on Amazon and a little goes a long way!! You really just need a few drops.

Truvia isn't true stevia and has lots of bad side effects, it's not as natural as the ads would have you believe. I've tried a few different brands and NuNaturals is my favorite too, I use the vanilla flavored, alcohol based, one in almost everything!

YES! I have been wanting to try Chia Pudding and this recipe sounds delicious. Of course I only like Almond Milk (no coconut please) and I use Silk Almond Milk which I am sure tastes the same as Almond Breeze. Don't have the liquid Stevia either, but am going to use natural honey this time and see how it tastes. Gina...could you make a chocolate one sometime?? Would love to see how that works out.

Enjoyed this recipe! I made one mason jar with strawberries and blackberries included, and 1 mason jar without fruit (for my non-berry eating hubby). His chia pudding thickened up just like it should, while mine (with the fruit) was still runny. So, next time I will add the berries just before eating.

My first attempt was okay, but came out watery probably due to the frozen berries I used. I would like to try again with honey instead of stevia! (I couldn't wait to go to the store again and thought I would try with the ingredients I had on hand.)

Summer is here and what we all need is a drink just like Superfood Triple Berry Chia Pudding to blow our mind... Thank you for sharing it with us.. Keep it up!! http://www.psocial.in/category/food-and-recipes

I popped this in the fridge last night and it was still runny (8hrs) this morning. Is consistency supposed to e more pudding-like or runny? Left it in the fridge just see if it needed more time but just checked it at 11hrs and it's the same.

I used tupperware. Made with honey, blueberries, raspberries, and of course chia and almond milk (I had sweetened vanilla on hand).

This recipe made me smile, because I realized we've been eating healthy enough to just have these ingredients laying around. I'm making 5 different Skinnytaste recipes between tonight and tomorrow, as part of our normal routine. :)

I like every one of your recipes that I've made. I also love chia seeds, berries, almond milk, and pudding. Unfortunately this just did not do it for me. Mine came out runny and slimey. The taste is good but I was really hoping for more of a pudding consistency. What am I doing wrong?

I made this the other night and LOVED it, as did my girls. So the two servings were not enough. So I doubled the recipe last night and this morning when I went to check it didn't thicken...still the milky look vs pudding. Any idea on what I did wrong and is this batch salvageable? Thanks!

Mine was also did not set but then I noticed a similar recipe on the bag. It calls for 1/4C of seeds to 1C liquid, so I think there needs to be more seeds for it to be more like pudding (about twice the amount in this recipe.) I'm currently waiting to see if this worked.

Good morning everyone who is having this concoction runny and not set. The first time I made it I used frozen fruit. The frozen fruit was too cold and caused my chia seeds to clump at bottom and so it did not gel. So I remade it last night. I didn't add the fresh fruit (blackberries only) until after I added the stevia, milk and chia seeds and shook it the first time around. I opened the jar and added the fruit and gave it a good shake and then let it sit for about 30 minutes (only because I forgot to shake it after 15 minutes). Then I reshook it and put it in the fridge. I got up this morning, first thing I did was check out the pudding and it has set! I can't wait to get my spoon in it and enjoy me some chia pudding. Whatever Gina puts together on this skinny taste website I pretty much have tried it. I am a huge fan of this website and very thankful for her unselfishness to share with us her recipes.

It is not about how thick a person wants it... the pudding doesn't set at all and it is just watery, the way I left it the night before. I also don't think it has anything to do with the ratio because whatever seeds are in there did not expand at all (if they did but still watery, I understand increasing the amount of chia seeds). I am thinking that it has to do with the temperature of the liquid or the quality of the seeds or something else totally different.

ahh just fell in love w ur blog and recently just started incorporating smoothies as a breakfast stable especially even w my new purchase of the nutribullet love it!! and you give new ideas for smoothies

I agree with a previous commenter that I prefer this recipe with an additional tablespoon of chia seeds, and 3/4 cup of milk. I made it twice following your recipe, and it was just too milky for my taste. Adding the additional tablespoon helped make it taste more like pudding in my opinion.

I seem to have had the opposite experience of some others - mine set up too much! I took the advice of other commenters to add 3 tbsp of chia instead of 2, and shook it vigorously as Gina had instructed, and this morning it's basically a gooey chia blob. My chia to milk ratio is waaaay too high - there is none of the milky goodness like in the photos above. When looking through the side of the jar, all I see is chia seeds smooshed together. I can tell the flavor is good, so I am going to try it again tonight following Gina's steps exactly. I do think shaking the jar vigorously 15 minutes apart is the most important step to help the pudding set up.

I loved the taste of this, but I'm not getting the same number of points plus when I plug this into WW etools recipe builder. 1 cup of fat free milk is 2p+, 2 TBS of chia seeds are 2p+ = 4p+ (assuming you used a sweetener without calories rather than honey, which added an extra 2p+). With just milk and chia seeds in the recipe builder, it came up to 5p+. Still good, but the points aren't actually as low as I'd hoped.

Do you have any suggestions for making something like this for someone with severe nut allergies? Almond milk would definitely be out for my boyfriend. Would some kind of soy milk work and/or taste as good? It's always hard finding stuff he can eat that's still healthy.... I know nuts are a big part of eating healthy but we have to avoid those. Thanks!!!

A few things for those of you who apparently don't read the other very helpful and informative comments.1. Chia seeds don't set, they simply soak up liquid and expand. The amount they expand (and thus "set") depends on how much liquid (goat, cow, almond, whiskey.. whatever) you add. 2. This recipe makes more of a viscous (see:watery) pudding. If you like that, great. Eat it and comment nicely. Say thank you. If you want it slightly "thicker" decrease your liquid or increase your chia. Play around with it. You wont die.3. It absolutely does not matter what kind of container you use. Plastic, Glass, Boot, Whatever. As long as its a liquid retaining vessel, it works.4. Stir it! Its says it right there in the recipe. Mix, let sit, shake, maybe repeat. Simple.

I think the issue that a lot of people are having is that the chia seeds simply aren't expanding. If the chia seeds had clearly gotten larger and softer, and the putting was still watery, then yes, it would be a simple solution to add more chia, or use less liquid. However adding more chia won't really do anything if the chia isn't expanding in the first place. Mine are still the exact same size as before I put them in the liquid, and they're still gritty/grainy, not soft. That particular issue hasn't been answered yet (and yes, I have read al the comments, and stirred the mixture, etc)

If the seeds aren't absorbing the liquid there really can only be 1 of 2 issues, the seeds are 'stale' which can happen even if just purchased from a store and doesn't mean they're expired. Or the liquid/room temp where you are letting it set after the combining the ingredients is too cool. The first thing I would try is letting the milk come up to room temperature before mixing with the fruit and seeds, and also make sure you're not refrigerating it for the 15 minute soft set.

If you keep your house below 65 F then I would also suggest warming the mixture on the stove top after first combining them, rather like warming a baby's bottle. Don't try to boil it, just bring the temp up a bit, this will help to soften and open up the seeds.

As I was making this last night, I have to say that I was really skeptical. I used a little bit of agave and all strawberries, as that's what I had on hand, and it was wonderful. I can't eat dairy and really miss yogurt in the mornings, so this will now be my go-to breakfast. I can't wait to try other flavourings. Thanks for sharing!

I found my Chia seeds at Walgreens and have seen them at CVS. They are in a bag, among the vitamins. Strange place I thought. I have heard that Trader Joe's is cheaper, so I will go there next time. But for anyone not near a Trader Joe's, check your local pharmacy in the vitamin section.

I drink a protein shake or eggs with veggies every morning and was looking for something different to mix it up a bit. I have to say I was a little hesitant to try it but I was amazed how delicious it tasted! I had it for breakfast and it really filled me up before my long run. This will definitely be a keeper!! Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes! You truly have a gift!

I love pudding so I was super excited to try this. I happened to have chocolate almond milk on hand so I used that instead of Vanilla. It was SO good! I just started visiting your blog at my friend's request and I have loved every recipe so far. PS. Your daughter is adorable!

I made this last night and had it with the hubby for breakfast. To my surprise he loved it! I loved it too and I felt full after only one serving. :) Thanks for the great recipe. PS: This was my first time every trying chia seeds.

Im doing a experiment,, i think if shaken too late when the seeds are semi gel causes the gel to mix with the liquad not letting the chia absorb anymore so gonna try shaking 5 mins after instead of 15 . Also trying a batch with more seeds and also less to have more liquad to absorb.. erik

Gina, will the serving expand in the jar? Will the chia seeds expand? I doubled the recipe and added all ingredients in a Tupperware container like a jar type size with a lid but of course the ingredients kept rising as I added them.